City of Generations
by AryaTindomiel
Summary: What happens when a child grows up as a mundane during her waking moments, but in her dreams she is of the Nephilim? And what happens when she is unexpectedly thrown into the world of Shadowhunters? Which is the greater sacrifice - family or love? AU from both series. Collaboration with AndyAiden.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: So this is a fic that me and my parabatai (AndyAiden) are writing. We made a lot of changes to both TMI and TID, so if something is different from either series that is on purpose. There will probably be spoilers from all books in both series (in whatever order fits the story line).**

**Disclaimer: We do not own TMI or TDI.**

* * *

Departure

It was in the late evening in Idris. If one was awake, then they would have seen the silhouette of a man sneaking out of Alicante and into the countryside. The man paused when he was in sight of the Fairchild manor. The lights on the upper level were on, indicating that not everyone was asleep.

In one of the windows, the man could see the form of Jocelyn Morgenstern…well Jocelyn Fairchild now (again). The woman had abandoned the name of her husband in favor of her maiden name and for good reason. Because Jocelyn's husband is Valentine Morgenstern – the Shadowhunter who sought to destroy all Downworlders, but the Clave was able to stop him.

First, the Clave had Shadowhunters who were their spies join the Circle. With the help of these spies, the Clave was able to uncover what Valentine and his brother David truly were. Then the Uprising occurred - the terrible massacre of the Circle that shook the race of Nephilim, bringing about fear and doubt into their order.

The man, whose name was Richard Nightrider, shook his head. He should not be reminiscing of tragic times that were gone. Valentine was killed by Stephen Herondale during the Uprising. The shock on his face that his right hand man betrayed him was of utter disbelief. As horrible as when he discovered that his own wife was against him. However, David Morgenstern had been able to escape with his life and his nephew Jonathan.

The Clave feared that David would return, but Richard and Stephen assured them that it was always Valentine that was the ruthless one. David was simply playing the role of the little brother who idolized his elder sibling.

The man shook his head again; he should have been focusing on his mission tonight. Richard looked back at the window. Jocelyn was cradling a small pink bundle, her newborn daughter Clarissa. Amatis Graymark (formerly Morgenstern) with her infant daughter Theresa had joined her. It was fitting that the two women stayed with each other for they had been in the same situation before the Uprising; married to Morgenstern men bent on revenge.

After a few more moments, the babies seemed to settle and the women retreated to their rooms and turned out the lights. Richard took a deep breath and continued on his way. He reached the stone house that was his destination and knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door opened to reveal a warlock with pale green skin and horns.

"You're late, Nightrider," commented Ragnor Fell. "I don't like my time wasted."

Richard sighed. "I'm sorry Mr. Fell I-"

"Save your apologies and hurry inside, we must be quick." Richard did as he was told. The two entered Ragnor's living room. The warlock immediately went to work and after a few minutes, a portal was made. "You have until dawn Nightrider."

"Thank you," and with that Richard Nightrider stepped into the portal.

* * *

An hour later, Richard was at the door of a hotel room in Paris, France. He straightened himself and took out his stele to draw an unlocking rune on the door. As he entered the room, he heard a soft feminine gasp come from the woman at the bed.

"It's only me Catherine," he assured.

Catherine was silent and this puzzled the Shadowhunter. He looked around the room and saw that the usual clothes and books that were strewn around the place were gone. Richard saw that Catherine was packing her suitcase.

"What is the meaning of this Catherine?"

Now she spoke. "I'm going home."

Richard was shocked. "Why?"

"I-I have to," she stuttered.

"Catherine," he stepped toward the woman. "What are you not telling me?"

She let out a shaky breath. "I-I…I'm pregnant Richard."

If Richard was stunned before, he was completely taken aback now. He didn't know what to think or what to do. Shadowhunter men and boys never had to go through with this predicament. The Nephilim always were precautious when they were not married. However, Catherine Alva was not of the Nephilim and whatever mundane precautions she took were probably futile to the fertility of Shadowhunters.

"Say something," she begged.

Finally, Richard found his voice and asked, "How long..?"

Catherine sniffed. "I've known for a few weeks, but…my doctor says that it's been almost three months."

"I'm sorry," was all he could muster. "I'm sorry I brought this on you."

Catherine laughed bitterly. "It's…partially my own fault. All my life, I've seen the things in your world, but I ignored them since no one else saw. But when we met…somehow I knew that I had to stop being ignorant."

Richard stifled a chuckle. "I still should have stayed away from you. You're a mundane and I'm a Shadowhunter, there could never be a real future for us."

"You've said that before, but I knew that you were lying because there is one way…"

Richard sighed. "Catherine…I love you, but being a Shadowhunter…it's everything to me."

She nodded. "I know. That's why I have to leave. Staying here will just draw you to me and the baby, which the Clave won't allow unless you leave that world behind, but you won't. So I have to."

"If I could – without having to sacrifice anything – I would do the right thing by you."

She sniffed again. "I know." Catherine fell into his embrace and her sobs were muffled against Richard's chest.

"Our child will be a Shadowhunter," he whispered into her mahogany hair.

Catherine gasped as she looked into Richard's dark green eyes with her hazel ones. "Then the Clave-"

"The Clave will not learn about either of you, I can make sure of that."

"But the child will be one of you, one of them."

"As I said, I will shelter and protect the both of you, just like I've been doing before for just you."

She was skeptical, "but how, Richard?"

He softly stroked her hair. "Just trust me. I promise I won't let anything happen to either of you – ever." Catherine saw truth in his eyes and she nodded as he smiled down at her. "Now, go home… and…take care of yourself. I may be watching over you, but I can't be by you side."

She murmured, "I will," and with one last kiss goodbye, Richard Nightrider left.

Catherine looked down at her palm and saw that Richard had left her a little silver ring with an N imprinted on it – the Nightrider ring. After slipping the ring into her purse, she swiftly wiped her tears and gathered her things. It would be a long and sorrowful journey until she and Richard would meet again.

* * *

******Author's Note: Just to get things straight-**

**-Stephen Herondale and Amatis were never married (sorry to all fans of this ship, but for the purpose of the story, Celine is Stephen's love, don't worry we won't leave Amatis without an LI, I do like her character).**

**-Amatis married David Morgenstern (Valentine's younger brother) and Tessa (yes, our TID Tess) is their daughter.**

**Any questions, we're happy to clarify them. The nature of Catherine and Richard's relationship will be explored in future chapters. And all our favorite TMI and TDI heroes will come in the next chapter, along with our OC.**

**Well...thanks for reading, we would like your feedback, so please review.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Happy Holidays, everyone!**

**Author's Note: The first part in _italics_ is a dream.**

******Disclaimer: We do not own TMI or TDI.**

* * *

Attack

*18 years later*

_She lunged towards the punching bag hanging from the hook. The seraph blade ripped through the fabric, causing the cotton from the inside of the bag to fall and scatter onto the ground._

_"Very good, Lizzie, you've gotten better since the last time I was with you." The mysterious man told her. Lizzie caught a chill running down her spine. They always met up in a different place every time he visited her. This time, however, he had chosen an old meat factory and they practiced inside the meat locker freezer._

_"I've been studying the books you told me to study. I've been following your direction the entire way. When will you give me more answers?" Lizzie urged. Suddenly she felt a little disturbed and heard a soft buzzing noise._

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. The alarm clock was sounding off and Lizzie had yet to get the answers she needed._

_"All in good time, my dear Lizzie, I'll explain to you everything you need to know." The man said before disappearing and fading along with the sleep._

Lizzie yanked the plug from the outlet, causing the alarm to die out. She turned over in her bed and stared at the ceiling, contemplating the man's words. The man was no longer a stranger to her, yet she still didn't know who he was and why he was teaching her these techniques. The man always came to her in her sleep about twice a week from the time she was seven until now. She didn't have much use for those skills until about a year ago when these creepy monsters came out to attack her.

Sometimes if she had remembered enough detail about the location in her dreams, she would be able to find it somewhere in the city. When she had first fallen to sleep, she remembered seeing the name Wilkins on the billboard near the abandoned building.

Lizzie got up and logged onto her computer, searching for the name 'Wilkins' near her. She pulled up the directions and made the decision to seek this place out. It was only about 3 A.M. and Lizzie knew her mom would still be asleep. She slipped into her all black gear that the man had ordered her to buy and headed for the old Wilkins Meat Factory.

* * *

Lizzie stepped off her motorcycle and stood in front of the building, studying the outside before going in. That was the billboard Lizzie remembered distinctly from her dreams. She walked up and tugged on the building's doors but they wouldn't bulge. Finally she walked around until she saw another entrance that went into what appeared to be a meat locker. Lizzie tugged on those doors as well but they also wouldn't bulge. At the bottom of the door was a dustied glass panel. Lizzie decided that the glass looked breakable so she kicked at the panels with the backs of her combat boots and squeezed through the small space.

The inside of the meat locker was exactly the way it looked inside her dreams. She walked over to the spot where the man had been standing and closed her eyes. Even though she couldn't feel his presence, she pretended he was here with her and listened to his words in her head.

"_Chin down, elbows up, feet spread slightly more than shoulders-length apart. Look the demon directly into the pits of his damned and forever disturbed soul and fight."_

Lizzie took out her seraph blade from her backpack and followed the instructions, pretending that there was a demon in front of her. She had seen and fought demons before and barely made it out alive. But now, with these improved skills and practice she felt she could take on any demon. She struck out with immense precision and accuracy, moving as keen as her blade. She was beginning to be more deathly with her newfound skills. Finally when she decided that she had had enough of practicing she checked her watch to see the time. It was a little after 4 A.M. and her mom would be awake in another hour for work. She had to get home quickly and the quickest way was through the park.

* * *

For some reason there was massive demon activity in Central Park. Not great enough for the elders and the Clave to bother with, but enough to involve all the members of the younger generation staying in the New York Institute. The group consisted of Will and Jace Herondale – the twin sons of Stephen and Celine Herondale, the two eldest Lightwood children – Alec and Isabelle, Jem Carstairs, Jessamine Lovelace, Clary Fairchild – Jocelyn Fairchild's daughter, and her cousin – Amatis' daughter Tessa Graymark.

When the eight of them arrived in the park, they saw that a large mass of demons surrounded a young girl. She looked about their age and she wore Nephilim gear, but they were the only Shadowhunters in New York that they knew of; so who was this girl?

They had no time to question, because the demons realized their presence and attacked. The group of eight split into their _parabatai_ pairs – Jace and Alec, Will and Jem, Tessa and Jessie, and Clary and Izzy – and drew their seraph blades.

There weren't that many demons, only about a dozen, so the fighting was quick and easy; especially with the mysterious girl's help. However, as the fight neared its end, a demon was able to slash the girl's shoulder. She cried out and fell to the ground. The demon moved to finish her off, but Tessa jumped between them. The demon, realizing who she was, paused.

"Well," it hissed, "If it isn't the freakish Shadowhunter." Tessa narrowed her eyes, but William cut off her retort.

"She's no freak," said Will in a threatening voice as he came to Tessa's side. Just one leap and the demon would be dead.

The demon seemed amused. "Either way, she is not like the rest of you," it hissed.

Will was losing his temper quickly. Despite all his glorious, selfless quality, Will was still one with a short temper; especially when the subject came to Tessa's unusual abilities.

"Any last words," Will asked as he poised himself to strike.

The demon hissed angrily, "Valentine's glory will be back."

Jace then came to stand beside his twin, "Valentine is dead."

"Yes, _of course_ he is," It held an even more malicious expression, "but his line is not." Its eyes traveled to Tessa and Clary.

Jace narrowed his eyes when he saw this gesture. "If you're suggesting that they are anything like their fathers-"

"Of course they are Herondale," the demon wore a sickly grimace, "they simply need the right guidance for that part of them to be awaken." It looked back between Tessa and Clary. "David and Jonathan will-"

That was it; the Herondale twins launched forward and stabbed the demon's chest.

During those few short moments afterwards, none of the other Shadowhunters moved, fearful of what might happen. Alec was the first to recover as he took notice of the stranger who had yet to depart.

"Who are you?" asked Alec.

The girl seemed to be frozen with shock as her large, dark green eyes simply stared at them. Jace was about to make a sarcastic remark when the girl suddenly crumpled and collapsed.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, Will and Jace being twins (they are fraternal) a bit of a stretch, but we want to be original, since they're always made cousins in similar situations. Questions, confusion? Let us know, but we may not tell you everything :).**

**Thanks for reading and please review (and please don't favorite or subscribe w/o reviewing, we would like to know to what you liked about the story).**


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